Death Row Inmate Paid Over $30K for Victims’ Whereabouts

Comstock/Thinkstock(SAN JOAQUIN, Calif.) — Death Row inmate Wesley Shermantine was paid $33,000 by a Sacramento bounty hunter in exchange for information leading to the remains of victims of the “Speed Freak Killers,” according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Authorities say Shermantine drew maps of where he and his late accomplice Loren Herzog buried their victims during a more than decade-long murder spree that began in the mid-1980s.

San Joaquin County Sheriff’s spokesperson Les Garcia said deputies and employees were busy digging Saturday after recovering remains late last week.

“We have information that we may have 10 to 20 bodies in that well,” Garcia told the Times, referring to the new areas identified Saturday by Shermantine.

Officials say Herzog committed suicide last month after learning Shermantine was cooperating with authorities. Worried the new information supplied by his former accomplice would lead to new charges, the 46-year-old took his life Jan. 16.

According to the Times, officials say Shermantine was motivated to make a deal due to the fact he was already on Death Row and does not have access to his prison account until $18,000 is restitution to victims’ families is paid.